No Matter How I Feel

September 17, 2018

Everyone has those days when the thought of going to work just sucks the joy out of you. It’s not that the work is so hard or the people so bad; it would just be easier and pleasant to stay home. Unfortunately, there are too many people who choose that easier route, making life more difficult for the rest of us. Fortunately, there are many more who whether they feel like it or not, decide to roll out of bed and go to work. And if they look hard enough, they can find a blessing in the most mundane of tasks.

I didn’t feel like going to work today. Technically, I’m retired and can choose to do whatever I want, but last May, I chose to continue pulpit supply in Dunkirk. That decision three months ago is what made me get up and go to work this morning. I’m so glad I did. Before the morning was out, I had lengthy conversations with two different people; one who is faithfully serving the Lord and his church in Dunkirk, the other, one of our Willow Mission clients. The latter conversation in particular, made it worth getting up and going to work.

I had stopped over to his house a few weeks ago, leaving a note when I found him not at home. He wanted to talk when he came into the mission today, so I invited him to sit for awhile. He told me how he needed to get his life together. He’s all alone, with no family in the area, and his friends are not a good influence on him. From his conversation, it’s apparent that he’s had some sort of Christian training, but has walked away from it, describing himself as having a foot in two different worlds. I told him he couldn’t stay that way forever, and needed to decide which world he wanted to be in. He knows. “I have no purpose,” he told me. But choosing to leave behind the familiar, even when it is destructive, is not easy. He didn’t make a commitment to Christ today, but we talked, and hopefully he will be back. 

It’s conversations like this that get me up in the morning, and when I’d rather stay home, these encounters keep me coming back. I’m thankful for the opportunity to talk with a man about Jesus, and to hold him before the Lord in prayer tonight. Small steps they might be, but still, we’re walking!